Fuel conditioning apparatus

ABSTRACT

A fuel conditioning system has a housing defining a chamber and provided with an inlet upstream of the chamber and an outlet downstream of the chamber. A hemispherical seat has a first end in communication with the inlet, and a second end in communication with the chamber. A valve body is moveable between a closed position and an open position where the valve body is spaced from the inlet to allow air to flow into the chamber. A biasing device biases the valve body toward the closed position.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a continuation application of U.S. application Ser.No. 11/134,118 filed May 20, 2005, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,287,744, andclaims the benefit of Australian Application No. 2004902733 filed May24, 2004, the entireties of which are incorporated herein by reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a fuel conditioning apparatusparticularly, though not exclusively for an internal combustion engine.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present Inventor is the Inventor of a fuel supply system describedin International Application No. WO2003/056165. This system comprises ahousing defining a chamber and provided with an inlet opening upstreamof the chamber and an outlet opening downstream of the chamber. A fuelinjector sprays a fuel mist into the chamber, and a heater heats airflowing into the chamber via the inlet to a temperature of between 110°C. to 260° C. Pressure within the chamber is negative relative toambient temperature. The fuel sprayed into the chamber by the fuelinjector is thermally cracked so that a mixture of cracked fuel andheated air flows from the outlet to a combustion chamber in anassociated internal combustion engine.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to the present invention there is provided a fuel conditioningapparatus comprising:

-   -   a housing defining a chamber and provided with an inlet upstream        of the chamber and an outlet downstream of the chamber;    -   a hemispherical seat with a first end in fluid communication        with the inlet and a second end in fluid communication with the        chamber, the second end lying in a plane containing a diameter        of the hemispherical seat;    -   a valve body comprising a curved surface and a planar surface        extending across the curved surface, the valve body being        movable between a closed position where the valve body seals the        inlet, and an open position where the valve body is spaced from        the inlet to produce a gap between the valve and the seat        allowing air at the inlet to flow through the first and second        ends into the chamber; and    -   a biasing device that biases the valve body toward the closed        position.

Preferably the curved surface is hemispherical in shape having a radiussubstantially the same as a radius of said seat, whereby when said valvebody is in said closed position said planar surface lies in the planecontaining the diameter of the seat.

Preferably the chamber comprises an internal surface with a firstportion extending in an inclined manner contiguously from the second endtoward the outlet.

Preferably the first portion of the internal surface is concavely curvedwhen viewed in a direction from the outlet to the inlet.

Preferably the air is fresh air.

Preferably the apparatus further comprises a shaft associated with thevalve body to guide the valve body when moving between the closedposition and opened position.

Preferably the shaft extends into a passage formed in the valve bodyperpendicular to the planar surface and along a radius of the valvebody.

Preferably the bias device is mounted on the shaft.

Preferably the bias device applies a pressure in the order of one bar onthe valve body.

Preferably the apparatus further comprises a plate lying parallel to theplanar surface and located centrally of a longitudinal axis of thechamber between the second opening and the outlet, the plate dimensionedto provide an annular space between the plate and adjacent portion ofthe internal surface of the chamber.

Preferably the apparatus further comprises a first mesh screen extendingacross the chamber and located between the plate and the outlet.

Preferably the apparatus comprises a second mesh screen extending acrossthe chamber and located between the first mesh and the outlet.

The present invention is also directed to methods of conditioning fuel.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

An embodiment of the present invention will now be described only withreference to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a schematic representation of a first embodiment of a fuelconditioning apparatus in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the fuel conditioning apparatus along line AAshown in FIG. 1; and,

FIG. 3 is an enlarged partial view of the fuel conditioning apparatus.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENT

Referring to FIG. 1, a fuel conditioning system 10 comprises a housing12 defining a chamber 14 and provided with an inlet 16 upstream of thechamber 14 and an outlet 18 downstream of the chamber 14. Ahemispherical seat 20 is formed in the housing 10 with a first end 22 incommunication with the inlet 16, and a second end 24 in communicationwith the chamber 14. Second end 24 lies in plane containing a diameterof the seat 20. A valve body 26 is received within the seat 20 andcomprises a curved surface 28 and a planar surface 30 which extendsacross the curved surface 28. The valve body 26 is movable between aclosed position where the valve body 26 seals the inlet 16 (and thefirst end 22) and an open position where the valve body is spaced fromthe inlet 16 to allow air presented at the inlet 16 to flow through thefirst end 22 between the seat 20 and curved surface 28, and through agap 38 between the second end 24 and an adjacent portion of the valvebody 26 into the chamber 14. A bias device in the form of a spring 32biases the valve body 26 toward the closed position. Fuel is injectedinto the chamber 14 by a fuel delivery system which in this embodimentcomprises a fuel injector 34.

The fuel conditioner 10 is ideally suited for coupling to an internalcombustion engine (not shown) via an intake manifold 36 connected to theoutlet 18. Due to the coupling with intake manifold 36 of an internalcombustion engine, a relative negative pressure is induced in thechamber 14. This pressure acts on a valve body 26 to lift it from theseat 20 against the bias of the spring 32.

Fresh air is delivered via a conduit 42 coupled to the inlet 16. Thefresh air is drawn from over an exhaust manifold (not shown) associatedwith an engine to which the fuel conditioner 10 is attached. This heatsthe air to between about 30° C. to 260° C. after the engine has reachednormal operating temperature.

Fuel injected into the chamber 14 is thermally cracked by collision withmolecules of the heated air to form a thermally cracked fuel and heatedair mixture.

Throughout this specification, the term “thermal cracking” in relationto fuel is used to mean vaporisation, volatilisation, or decompositionof high molecule weight hydrocarbons to lower weight moleculehydrocarbons, or any combination thereof.

The chamber 14 has an internal surface 46 a first portion 48 of whichextends in an inclined manner contiguously from the second end 24 towardto the outlet 18. While the surface may be linearly inclined it isbelieved more preferable for the first portion 48 to be concavely curvedwhen viewed in a direction from the outlet 18 to the inlet 16. Moreparticularly, first portion 48 comprises a portion of a sphereintersected by two parallel planes, one of a diameter greater than thatof the hemispherical seat 20, and the other of a diameter identical tothat of end 24. Formed contiguously with the first portion 48 is asecond portion 50 of the internal surface 46 which is of constantdiameter. A third portion 52 of the internal surface 46 extendscontiguously from the second portion 50 in a downstream direction towardthe outlet 18 and has a progressively decreasing internal diameter. Thethird portion 52 in this embodiment is configured as a mirror image ofthe first portion 48. However in alternate embodiments, the thirdportion 52 may be formed as an extension of the second portion 50 havinga constant inner diameter. In a further alternate embodiment, the thirdportion 52 can be formed with a lineally decreasing inner diameter inthe downstream direction.

A shaft 54 is associated with the valve body 26 to guide the valve body26 when moving between the closed position and the open position.Moreover, the shaft 54 extends into a passage 56 formed in the valvebody 26 perpendicular to the planar surface 30 and along a radius of thevalve body 26. Opposite ends of the shaft 54 are seated in the conduit42 and intake manifold 36. The spring 32 is retained on the shaft 54 andacts between the planar surface 30 and a bush 58 held centrally within aplate 60 lying parallel to the planar surface 30.

Ideally the shaft 54 and spring 32 are made of stainless steel with thebush 58 being made of brass.

The plate 60 is spaced from the second end 24 by, and supported on, aplurality of pins 62 that extend parallel to the shaft 54. The plate 60is dimensioned to provide an annual space 64 between the plate 60 and anadjacent portion of the internal surface 46 of the chamber 14. The plate60 is of the diameter ranging from about the diameter of the second end24 to approximately 85% of the maximum internal diameter of the chamber14. In this embodiment the plate 60 is at substantially the same levelas the transition from surface portion 48 to surface portion 50.

A first mesh screen 66 extends across the chamber between the plate 60and the outlet 18. The mesh 66 is parallel to the second opening 24 andmay be made from stainless steel wire with the ratio of wire area tototal screen area being from about 1:5 to 1:9 but preferably about 1:7.

A second mesh screen 68 of similar construction to, and parallel with,the first screen 66 extends across the chamber 14 between the first meshscreen 66 and the outlet 18.

The fuel injection system also comprises a fluid gallery 70 formedinternally in the housing 12 which is in fluid communication with thefuel injector 34, and a plurality of openings or jets 72 (see FIG. 2)that spray fuel laterally into the chamber 14. More particularly, thejets 72 spray the fuel across the gap 38 laterally onto the valve body26 from a location adjacent the transition from the seat 20 to the firstsurface portion 48.

With reference to FIGS. 1 and 3, the valve body 26 is of hemisphericalshape and of a complimentary configuration of the seat 20 so that thebody 26 can be fully seated in the seat 20 with the surface 28contacting the seat 20 and the planar surface 30 lying in a planecontaining the opening 24.

When the valve body 26 is lifted from the seat 20 by application ofvacuum in the chamber 14 a void 74 is formed between the surface 28 andthe seat 20. The void 74 is in the shape of a three-dimensional curvedshell having a crescent-shaped cross-section. This void leads to the gap38 created between the second opening 24 and an adjacent portion of thebody 26. It should be appreciated that due to the complimentaryhemispherical shapes of the seat 20 and the valve body 26, the gap 38widens relatively slowly as the valve body 26 is lifted. Moreover, thesize of the gap 38 increases at a slower rate than the distance betweenthe body 26 and the seat 20 in the vicinity of the first end 22. Whenthe engine to which the fuel conditioner 10 is coupled is at idle speed,the gap 38 may be in the order of 3 mm to 7 mm, the variation dependingon the specific idle speed and engine size. At full throttle, the gap 38is typically between 14 mm to 18 mm. Due to the shape of the valve body26 and the seat 20 the gap 38 is in the shape of an annulus.

Air emanating from the annular gap 38 splays outwardly by approximately15°. This is substantially commensurate with the inclination of thesurface portion 48. This in turn minimises the likelihood of air, nowcarrying fuel vapour, bouncing or deflecting from the surface 48 towarda longitudinal axis of the chamber 14.

The spring 34 provides a pressure of approximately one bar (ie oneatmosphere) on the valve body 26. Thus, there is a pressure drop of 1atmosphere between the inlet 16 and outlet 18 when the valve body 26 islifted from the valve seat 20 by action of vacuum applied by an engineto which the fuel conditioner 10 is coupled. This pressure reductionassists in vaporisation and thermal cracking of the fuel.

Fuel is injected into the chamber 14 via the injector 34 at a rate so asto produce a substantially stoichmetric fuel to air ratio at the outlet18, namely fuel to air ratio of 14.78:1.

In one embodiment of the fuel conditioner 10, the inlet 16 and outlet 18have an internal diameter of 52 mm, the distance (diameter) cross theend 24 is 100 mm and the hemispherical surface portion 48 has a diameterof approximately 150 mm. Distance dl from the first end 22 to the secondend 24 is about 43 mm and the distance d2 between the second end 24 andthe transition from surface 48 to surface 50 is in the order of 47 mm.Total length of the housing 12 is in the order of 240 mm, with anoutside diameter in the order of 140 mm. The valve body 26 is made ofblack nylon and has a weight of approximately 120 g. However the abovedimensions will vary for different sized (capacity) engines.

Typically, a throttle valve 76 is provided in the intake manifold 36 andcan be actuated by a solenoid or other actuator in response todepression of an accelerator pedal and/or other control signals andinputs.

The operation of the fuel conditioner 10 will now be described.

Prior to starting of an engine to which the conditioner 10 is connected,the spring 32 biases the valve body 26 against the opening 16 thussealing the inlet 14. Upon starting of the engine, a vacuum is createdwhich is communicated through the intake manifold 36 to the chamber 14.The vacuum lifts the body 26 against the bias of the spring 32 allowingair to pass through the opening 16 and gap 38 into the chamber 14. Fuelis injected laterally into the chamber 14 against the valve body 26. Theair passing through the gap 38 impacts with and carries the fuel in adownstream direction toward the outlet 18. After a short period of time,the temperature of the air flowing in through the gap 38 becomes heatedbetween 30° C. to 260° C. The impacting of the fuel molecules sprayedinto the chamber 14 with the heated air causes thermal cracking of thefuel. The thermal cracking is further enhanced by impacting of fueldrops and molecules against the plate 60, and meshes 66 and 68. Theinclination and/or curvature of the surface 48 assists in minimisingdeflection of the air toward a central longitudinal axis of the chamber14 which may otherwise cause accumulation of fuel within that region ofthe chamber 14.

Due to the relative configurations of the seat 20 and the valve body 26variation in the gap size 38 occurs in a relatively controlled manner,as vacuum increases. This provides greater control over air speed andminimises “bounce” of the valve body 26.

The thermally cracked fuel passes through the inlet 18 into the inletmanifold 26 to the cylinders (not shown) of the internal combustionengine. The fuel, being thermally cracked and substantially in astochiometric ratio of 14.78:1 is conditioned for efficient burning inthe engine.

A controller or engine management unit (not shown) controls the volumeof fuel being sprayed in by the injector 34 commensurate with thethrottle position 36 and engine vacuum.

All modifications and variations of the above described embodiment thatwould be obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art are deemed tobe within the scope of the present invention the nature of which is tobe determined from the above description and the appended claims.

1. A fuel conditioning apparatus comprising: a housing defining a chamber and provided with an inlet upstream of the chamber and an outlet downstream of the chamber; a hemispherical seat with a first end in fluid communication with the inlet and a second end in fluid communication with the chamber, the second end lying in a plane containing a diameter of the hemispherical seat; a valve body comprising a curved surface and a planar surface extending across the curved surface, the valve body being movable between a closed position where the valve body seals the inlet, and an open position where the valve body is spaced from the inlet to produce a gap between the valve and the seat allowing air at the inlet to flow through the first and second ends into the chamber, a fuel delivery system arranged to spray fuel into the gap at a location in the hemispherical seat adjacent the second end of the hemispherical seat, wherein air delivered to the inlet flows through the gap to the second end where the air collides with the fuel; and a bias device that biases the valve body toward the closed position.
 2. The fuel conditioning system according to claim 1, wherein the gap is of a size in the range of from 14 mm to 18 mm when the valve body is in the open position.
 3. The fuel conditioning system according to claim 1, wherein the gap is of a size in the range of from 3 mm to 7 mm when the valve body is in the open position.
 4. The fuel conditioning system according to claim 1, wherein the gap is substantially annular when the valve body is in the open position.
 5. The fuel conditioning system according to claim 1, further comprising a plate lying parallel to the planar surface and located centrally of a longitudinal axis of the chamber between the second end and the outlet, the plate dimensioned to provide an annular space between the plate and adjacent portion of the internal surface of the chamber.
 6. The fuel conditioning system according to claim 5, wherein the gap increases in size in a controlled manner as vacuum within the chamber increases.
 7. The fuel conditioning system according to claim 5, wherein the relative configurations of the seat and the valve body are such that the gap increases in size as vacuum within the chamber increases, whereby the valve body experiences reduced bouncing compared to if the gap did not increase in size as vacuum within the chamber increases.
 8. The fuel conditioning system according to claim 5, wherein the relative configurations of the seat and the valve body are such that the gap increases in size as vacuum within the chamber increases, whereby greater control over air speed is achieved compared to if the gap did not increase in size as vacuum within the chamber increases.
 9. A fuel conditioning apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the chamber further comprises: an internal surface with a first portion, a second portion and a third portion, the first portion being concavely curved and extending outward from the second end to the second portion, the second portion being of constant diameter and extending from the first portion to the third portion, and the third portion extending from the second portion to the outlet.
 10. The fuel conditioning system according to claim 9, wherein the third portion has a progressively decreasing internal diameter.
 11. The fuel conditioning system according to claim 10, wherein the third portion is a mirror-image of the first portion.
 12. The fuel conditioning system according to claim 9, wherein the third portion is an extension of the second portion and has a constant inner diameter.
 13. The fuel conditioning system according to claim 9, wherein the third portion has a lineally decreasing inner diameter in a downstream direction.
 14. The fuel conditioning system according to claim 9, further comprising a plate lying parallel to the planar surface and located centrally of a longitudinal axis of the chamber between the second end and the outlet, the plate dimensioned to provide an annular space between the plate and adjacent portion of the internal surface of the chamber.
 15. A fuel conditioning apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the fuel delivery system comprises a fuel injector and a fluid gallery in fluid communication with the fuel injector, the fluid gallery comprising an annular section and a plurality of openings, the annular section communicating with the fuel injector and the openings, the openings communicating with the annular section and the chamber.
 16. The fuel conditioning system according to claim 15, wherein the annular section surrounds the chamber.
 17. The fuel conditioning system according to claim 1, wherein the gap is of a size in the range of 3 mm to 18 mm when the valve body is in the open position. 